Royal Vancouver Yacht Club Eco-certifies all 9 of its Facilities

Clean Marine BC flag

Murray Communications

The 5-anchor rating program, Clean Marine BC program, helps boating facilities improve on more environmentally friendly practices. All nine of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club (RVYC) facilities were certified in the program and out of the nine facilities, two achieved excellence by receiving the highest rating of 5-anchors.

Read the Press Release below.

Vancouver, BC—Royal Vancouver Yacht Club (RVYC) has certified all of its nine facilities in Georgia Strait Alliance’s award-winning Clean Marine BC program, with all sites receiving commendable four- or five-anchor ratings. The highest rating achievable is that of five anchors. RVYC’s dedication to environmental best practices contributes greatly to reducing the impact of recreational boating on the Strait of Georgia and beyond, and to protecting our cruising waters for future generations.

The Club’s Coal Harbour site, as well as its seven outstations, now join the Jericho main facility in providing members with a commitment to environmentally sustainable operations.

The Clean Marine BC designations, which follow site verification audits, have been awarded to:

Coal Harbour: 4-anchor rating, 2018

Secret Cove Outstation: 5-anchor rating, 2018

Scott Point Outstation: 5-anchor rating, 2018

Alexander Island Outstation: 4-anchor rating, 2018

Cortes Bay Outstation: 4-anchor rating, 2018

Garden Bay Outstation: 4-anchor rating, 2018

Tugboat Island Outstation: 4-anchor rating, 2018

Wigwam Inn Outstation: 4-anchor rating, 2018

Jericho: 4-anchor rating, 2012

Helping to nudge RVYC’s Secret Cove outstation to five anchors include upgrading docks to completely encapsulate foam flotation with high density polyethylene (HDPE); while at Scott Point there is a new boat sewage pumpout station and a greywater recycling system that cleans water from sinks, showers and laundry facilities to repurpose it for flushing toilets. At Tugboat Island, the Club maintains the outstation in a natural parklike state by removing invasive plants, doing beach clean ups, and avoiding toxic chemicals in landscaped areas. At Wigwam Inn, RVYC is in the process of implementing a micro-hydro system to cover the outstation’s electricity requirements.

Chris Barnett, Marine Asset Manager at RVYC, says; “At Coal Harbour, some of the most impactful changes we’ve made include installing an onsite recycling facility that diverts waste to multiple streams, our two boat lifts that use an engineered wash water catchment and a sediment filtration system to collect and separate heavy metals, and our newly converted salt-water pressure washers. But we’ve also included simpler eco-solutions, like offering bicycles for our members to use when in the downtown area and at Jericho Beach, as well as kayaks and bikes at all of our outstations.”

Commodore Alan Stovell says, “Certifying Coal Harbour was a particularly important step in our leadership to protect the coast. It also was the final asset to be certified, so now all of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club’s facilities are environmental boating leaders.”

Christianne Wilhelmson, Executive Director of Georgia Strait Alliance, says; “Royal Vancouver Yacht Club has worked tremendously hard and made the investment necessary to certify all of its facilities to such a high standard. Members of RVYC are part of an organization that is dedicated to keeping our oceans and communities healthy and we congratulate them on their achievement.”

Founded in 1903, RVYC is home to over 465 sailing yachts and 848 power yachts.

About the Clean Marine BC (CMBC) program

CMBC is a voluntary environmental recognition program for marinas, harbour authorities, yacht clubs, and boatyards. Launched by Georgia Strait Alliance in 2007, the five-anchor rating program helps boating facilities to improve upon and achieve excellence in environmental best practices.

Certifications are valid for three years, but can be upgraded at any time. There are 29 marinas, yacht clubs, boatyards and wharfs now part of the program, and another 23 facilities have adopted the Clean Marine BC policy and are working towards certification.

About Georgia Strait Alliance

Formed in 1990, Georgia Strait Alliance is the only conservation group working to protect and restore the marine environment and promote the sustainability of Georgia Strait, its adjoining waters and communities, www.GeorgiaStrait.org